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Anemia in babies
Is your child pale, unusually tired and has repeated infections? Perhaps he is suffering from anemia? How is it treated and what are the causes?
What is anemia?
We speak of anemia when a newborn baby’s hemoglobin level is abnormally low. There are hemorrhagic anemias observed at birth due to abnormal passage of blood between the fetus and the mother, or between fetuses, or fetal blood in the placenta, or hemorrhage caused by the rupture of the cord. Other anemias may be related to infections (fetal disease or bacterial infections) or to iron or folic acid deficiency due to maternal malnutrition or the absorption of certain drugs by the mother.
Causes of anemia
Anemia is a lack of iron, the main component of hemoglobin that gives red blood cells their color.
Iron deficiency can be caused by a lack of iron at birth, for example in the event of prematurity, since the iron stock of the fetus is essentially constituted during the last third of the pregnancy. In a twin pregnancy, babies can also lack iron, the stock transmitted by the mother being halved. Anemia can occur later, after birth. It may then be an insufficiency of iron intake during nutrition in the case of prolonged exclusively milk diets or chronic diarrhea.
Symptoms of childhood anemia
The paleness of the skin and especially the mucous membranes is the main sign of anemia. It can be associated with other manifestations testifying to iron deficiency: digestive disorders and anorexia, break in the weight curve, repeated infections, especially respiratory.
Treatment and prevention of childhood anemia
When the anemia is not of an extremely serious nature, supplementation of the deficiency element is prescribed. When anemia is due to an infection, it is treated according to the causative organism. In very severe anemia, it may be necessary to give transfusions. On the prevention side, breastfeeding is very beneficial. Even if the amount of iron contained in breast milk is low, it is well absorbed: 49%, compared to 10% for cow’s milk and 4% for added formula. In the end, a breastfed baby therefore has a greater quantity of iron than a baby fed infant formula. Systematic administration of iron is proposed in children at risk (premature babies, twins) from the age of 2 months.